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Mme Chirac singed by an old flame

THEY visited an orphanage together. They admired mosaics in a museum. Yet not one word was exchanged between Bernadette Chirac, the French first lady, and the Italian actress Claudia Cardinale as they went about their official duties last week as part of Jacques Chirac??s state visit to Tunisia.

It was hardly surprising. She might be an excellent cultural mouthpiece for France, but the Tunisian-born Cardinale??s appearance next to Bernadette in the presidential entourage in Africa raised eyebrows in Paris, where she has lived for years.

Cardinale, 65, is often described as a ??close friend?? of the fun-loving Chirac, but in 1998 a French news magazine broke a taboo on media coverage of politicians?? sex lives by announcing that she had been his mistress. Cardinale insisted that they were just ??good friends??.

Whatever the truth, French political circles were abuzz with talk of poor Bernadette, who confided last year on national